OECD DAC to monitor aid flows in support of climate change adaptation

11/12/2009 - On Wednesday 9 December 2009, Members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) approved a policy marker to track official development assistance (ODA) in support of climate change adaptation.

Adaptation-related aid is defined as activities that aim to reduce the vulnerability of human or natural systems to the impacts of climate change and climate-related risks, by maintaining or increasing adaptive capacity and resilience. It encompasses a range of activities, from information and knowledge generation to capacity development, planning, and the implementation of climate change adaptation actions.

DAC members will assess their new aid activities against the marker as from 1 January 2010, identifying which aid projects have climate change adaptation as either their principal, or a significant, objective. The marker will complement the existing DAC marker on climate change mitigation, and thus allow presentation of a full picture of all aid in support of developing countries' efforts to address climate change.

It was agreed that if decisions are taken at COP-15 or its follow-up that require changes to the new marker, these will be accommodated.